NEW YORK, NY.- Military tactician. Diplomat. Aristocrat. Benefactor. France's Marquis de Lafayette came to the Americas to join the fight for independence in 1777 and went on to play a major role in George Washington's defeat of the British army. More than 40 years later, he returned on a 13-month tour and our fledgling nation extended Lafayette a hero's welcome. His triumphant tour of all 24 states inspired the American public and was a uniquely galvanizing event in the early history of our nation.

Focusing extensively on Lafayette's 1824-1825 tour, the New-York Historical Society's exhibition French Founding Father: Lafayette's Return to Washington's America expands upon a show organized by the Mount Vernon Estate and gathers more than 100 of the objects that commemorated Lafayette's visit as well as his relationship to Washington. The exhibition opens on November 16 and runs through August 10, 2008.

"America: Made in France. That's the new, and provocative, perspective on the origins of American patriotic expression put forth in this exhibition," said Louise Mirrer, president and CEO of the New-York Historical Society. "Lafayette taught us how to be American. His tour occasioned a brilliant flowering of American nationalism - a redefinition of our historical memory, public space, rhetoric, and manners of celebration and community. A generation of American leaders used the Lafayette visit to stake out innovative ways of defining the country and its destined role in human history. These innovations are still alive in every American celebration and commemoration today and they have critical consequences for our foreign and domestic policy."

Lafayette returned to America at a time when the country faced growing fractionalization and was struggling to establish a national identity. In Lafayette, Americans discovered a living link to Washington and the glorious victories of the founding era. The "nation's guest" was celebrated in towns and cities across America for his heroism during the war and as a symbol of freedom. His presence created a groundswell of exuberant nationalism, reminding everyone about the shared democratic ideals that inspired the revolution and the country's achievements since the end of the war.

His visit left an indelible legacy. Dozens of towns (Indiana, Louisiana, Arkansas, North Carolina), counties (in fifteen states), important streets (New York City), and public squares (District of Columbia) were named in his honor. Yet, many who live in Fayetteville, Arkansas, shop on trendy Lafayette Street in Manhattan, attend Lafayette High School in Williamsburg, Virginia, or have stayed at San Diego's Lafayette Hotel, don't know much about the "forgotten" Founding Father for whom these locations are named.

French Founding Father was curated by Richard Rabinowitz, president of American History Workshop. "By putting visitors into the role of Americans during the 1820s, the N-YHS exhibition invites them to experience how rituals are created, how national unity and diversity are negotiated, how we recognize and honor heroism, and how our attitudes toward the past and the future have evolved over the course of American history," he explained.

The exhibition features objects, documents and images from the Mount Vernon Estate, the Historical Society and other institutions as well as multi-media, interactive elements that allow visitors to experience Young America's fervor over Lafayette. Highlights of what's on view include: A re-creation of the hero's welcome given to Lafayette upon his arrival at New York's Castle Clinton by a citizenry jubilantly awaiting their hero. Special video kiosks that demonstrate the lost art of the toast and invite visitors to offer their own toasts to Lafayette. A video created in partnership with the History Channel on the French Revolution. Wall-length maps showing the route of his14-month tour through all 24 states. An accurate scale model of L'Hermione, the "Liberty Frigate" in which Lafayette sailed to Boston in 1780 to aid the cause of the American Revolution.

Education Resources, Special Programs And Publications

French Founding Father will reach large numbers of students through an extensive program of educator-led tours, teacher workshops and instructional material public forums during its run and will continue to do so through a Web site.

The French Embassy, in partnership with the New-York Historical Society and the American Association of French, will host a series of contests to celebrate the Marquis de Lafayette and honor his legacy and ideals. About 2,500 K-12 tri-State area students will participate. The award ceremony will take place at the New-York Historical on Friday November 16, the day the French Founding Father opens.

The exhibition will be augmented by: The Bernard and Irene Schwartz Distinguished speaker series with lectures and panel discussions by historians, authors and other luminaries on the founding of the Republic, the invention of human rights, the contributions of the people of French origin who came to America before and after the Revolution and walking tours.

Weekends and special holidays featuring Re-enactment troops of the Colonial, French, British and Hessian armies, and actors portraying Revolutionary heroes.

Support for French Founding Father: Washington's Return to Lafayette's America has been provided by: Josie and Julian Robertson, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Mr. And Mrs. Robert G. Goelet, Virginia James, James S. Chanos, Elizabeth B. Dater and Wm. Mitchell Jennings Jr., Susan and Jack Rudin, The Florence Gould Foundation, The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation, Tocqueville Asset Management LP, Daum, Inc., Lynne and John Doss, Ahuva and Martin J. Gross, Mr. And Mrs. Stanley DeForest Scott, Melissa Vail and Norman Selby, The Evelyn Sharp Foundation, Achelis and Bodman Foundations, Russell P. Pennoyer, Martin R. Lewis, Hermès and Baccarat.